Accountax School of Business A Profile in Education

www.accountax.us

The Enrolled Agent Review Study Program

The Special Enrollment Exam Review (EA) 

What is an Enrolled Agent

Enrolled Agents (EAs) are federally-licensed tax practitioners who may represent taxpayers before the IRS when it comes to collections, audits and appeals. As authorized by the Department of Treasury's Circular 230 regulations, EAs are granted unlimited practice rights to represent taxpayers before IRS and are authorized to advise, represent, and prepare tax returns for individuals, partnerships, corporations, estates, trusts, and any entities with tax-reporting requirements. Enrolled agents are the only federally-licensed tax practitioners who specialize in taxation and have unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS. The enrolled agent profession dates back to 1884, when after questionable claims had been presented for Civil War losses, Congress acted to regulate persons who represented citizens in their dealings with the U.S. Treasury Department. Enrolled agents’ expertise in the continually changing field of taxation enables them to effectively represent taxpayers at all administrative levels within the IRS.

privilege and the Enrolled Agent

The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 provides federally-authorized practitioners (those bound by the Department of Treasury’s Circular 230 regulations) with a limited client privilege. This privilege allows confidentiality between the taxpayer and the enrolled agent under certain conditions. The privilege applies to situations in which the taxpayer is being represented in cases involving audits and collection matters. It is not applicable to the preparation and filing of a tax return. This privilege does not apply to state tax matters, although a number of states have an accountant-client privilege.

Continuing Education

In addition to the stringent testing and application process, the IRS requires enrolled agents to complete 72 hours of continuing education every three years in order to maintain their active enrolled agent license and practice rights. NAEA members are held to a higher standard than the IRS' minimum 72 hour continuing education requirement. NAEA members must complete 30 hours of IRS-approved continuing education hours each year (which would lead to a total of 90 hours for each three-year EA enrollment cycle period). Because of the expertise necessary to become an enrolled agent and the requirements to maintain the license, there are only about 53,700 practicing enrolled agents.

The Differences Between Enrolled Agents and Other Tax Professionals

Only enrolled agents are required to demonstrate to the IRS their competence in all areas of taxation, representation and ethics before they are awarded unlimited representation rights to represent taxpayers before IRS. Unlike attorneys and CPAs, who are state-licensed and who may or may not choose to specialize in taxes, all enrolled agents specialize in taxation.

Ethical Standards

Enrolled agents are required to abide by the provisions of the Department of Treasury’s Circular 230, which provides the regulations governing the practice of enrolled agents before the IRS. NAEA members are also bound by a Code of Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct of the Association.

This review course has been designed to incorporate the following topic areas of taxation. The material is continually updated to reflect each tax year. Changes have been made to the content of the material, per the IRS specifications and for the Prometric Testing beginning May 1, 2017.

According to the Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, 10.6(g) Enrolled Agents and Enrolled Retirement Plan Agents must qualify for the renewal of  enrollment. In order to qualify for renewal of enrollment, an individual enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service must certify on the application for renewal form prescribed by the Director of Practice that he or she has satisfied the requirement for continuing professional education. Requirements for enrollment cycle. A minimum of 72 hours of continuing education credit must be completed during each enrollment cycle. A minimum of 16 hours of continuing education credit, including 2 hours of ethics or professional conduct, must be completed during each enrollment year of an enrollment cycle.

  An individual who receives initial enrollment during an enrollment cycle must complete 2 hours of qualifying continuing education credit for each month enrolled during the enrollment cycle. Enrollment for any part of a month is considered enrollment for the entire month.ginning immediately, the IRS will begin allowing continuing education credit for each of the three parts of the Enrolled Agent Special Enrolled ( SEE) test preparation programs.

 Students may now earn up to five hours of federal tax continuing education credit for preparation of the EA Test for each Parts 1 and 2, and two credit hours of ethics for Part 3.  The maximum amount for SEE preparation programs is 12 credit hours.

The following classes are offer for the Enrolled Agent Review Study Program:

Part 1: Individual Taxation

RU73Z-P-00241-16-O

Section 1: Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data

Section 2: Income and Assets

Section 3: Deductions and Credits

Section 4: Taxation and Advice

Section 5: Specialized Returns for Individuals

Part 2: Businesses

RU73Z-P-00243-16-O

Section 1: Business Entities

Section 2: Business Financial Information

Section 3: Specialized Returns and Taxpayers

Part 3: Representation, Practice, and Procedures

RU73Z-E-00252-16-O